2023-09-23 05:03:41
The University of Baltimore Medical Center announced on Friday that surgeons had transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into the body of a man suffering from chronic heart disease, and for whom there was no other hope of survival.
The newspaper reported,The New York TimesThe American newspaper said that this is the second operation of its kind, after the first patient, David Bennett (57 years old), died two months after the organ transplant, but the pig’s heart was working well and there were no signs of the body rejecting the new organ.
The center indicated in a statement that the second patient is Lawrence Fawcett (58 years old), a former soldier in the US Navy, married and a father of two children, explaining that he underwent a pig heart transplant on Wednesday, and is “recovering well and communicating with his loved ones.”
The New York Times explained that Fawcett suffers from chronic heart disease, in addition to other medical complications, which made all organ transplant programs that use donated human organs refuse to include him on their lists.
Revolutionary experiments: transplanting pig organs into brain-dead people
Scientists plan to extend the duration of studies in which genetically modified pig organs are transplanted into brain-dead individuals as part of a long-term effort to address the shortage of life-saving organs.
“At least I have hope and a chance now,” Fawcett said before the surgery. “I will fight with all my might for every breath.”
He also added that he realizes that it would be a “miracle” if he was able to leave the hospital after the operation and return home, and another “miracle” if he lived for months or a year longer.
It is noteworthy that the science of organ transplantation has witnessed many developments over the past years. According to the New York Times, the human immune system has become less susceptible to rejecting animal organs.
Last year, surgeons at the University of Maryland made history after transplanting a genetically modified pig heart into the body of a dying man.
The man lived for only two months, before the transplant failed for reasons that are not yet fully identified, but her research offers lessons for future attempts.
Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to allow a number of pig heart or kidney transplants to be performed on the bodies of volunteer patients.
Medical success: a pig kidney worked efficiently in a man’s body for a period that “exceeded expectations”
A two-month experiment by a group of surgeons at New York University ended with a historic success, as a pig kidney functioned normally over two months after it was transplanted into the body of a brain-dead man.
In mid-September, an experiment by a group of surgeons at New York University, which lasted for two months, ended with historic success, as a pig kidney functioned normally throughout that period, after it was transplanted into the body of a man in a state of brain death.
The Associated Press revealed that the experiment ended with a “major and record” success, paving the way for doctors to try it on a living person.
She explained that “the body of Maurice Miller, the man who had a pig kidney transplanted into his body, was returned to his family after his brain death.”
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